Hollow
by Fortune's Mirror
Summary: She always knew she was misssing something. Always knew that there was more out there for her. And so, she set out to find it. Ita/Saku- Non-Massacre.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I will say this once for the entire story. I own nothing, only my own ideas- none of the characters.

A/N: Hello! Welcome to my new story, The Hollow. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

The Hollow_- Prologue_

_The wind blew cold at her back as she gazed upon the stone before her. Slowly, she raised her fingers to trace the letters of two names that made her heart break. _

_She had been gone for two days. Two whole days, and her world had been turned completely upside down. _

_Her parents were gone. Gone. And she was all alone now. _

_Her teammates, the two people who were supposed to always be there for her had abandoned her, left her to become stronger, cursing her to forever be left in their shadows. _

_And she couldn't take it. Without a support system how was she supposed to survive like this? Her family was gone, her best friends were gone- and she was all alone. _

"_Sakura?" The voice was quiet. "We have some things to discuss, your parent's things along with your inheritance." _

_The pink haired ninja turned slowly, and gazed into the eyes of her Hokage. Tsunade's face was stern, but soft as she looked upon the small form of the girl before her. Sakura was only fifteen years old, barely old enough to be able to take care of herself. _

_Being only a genin she couldn't take on well-paying missions, couldn't afford to keep the payments on her parent's home. How was someone so young going to fare on her own in the world? _

"_O-okay." She said emerald eyes sullen and downcast as she followed behind the leader of her village. _

_The trek to the Hokage tower was swift, the crowds having dispersed upon the notion of rain. Dark clouds were broiling above. _

_Once the long trek up the stairs was made, and the door to Tsunade's office opened, the Hokage motioned to the chair before her desk. Sakura sat down, refusing to meet her eyes as she dabbed at them with a damp tissue. _

_Tsunade cleared her throat and began shuffling through some papers. To be honest, her parents hadn't left her with much in the way of money, or estate. It seemed as though her family was a normal, hardworking civilian family. _

"_I'm not going to make it, am I?" Sakura whispered- the realization crushing her chest as more tears slipped past her closed eyes. _

_Tsunade's eyes narrowed. This girl was broken, yes, who wouldn't be after such terrible news? But to give up completely? How could she sit here and watch such a promising young woman just give up? _

"_Stop it." Tsunade snapped her amber eyes full of anger. _

_Sakura jumped, her tear filled eyes meeting those of her Hokage. Sakura opened her mouth to protest, trying to defend her sadness but Tsunade interrupted her. _

"_You have too much promise to wallow around in your pity, Sakura." The Hokage said, adverting her gaze to the window that overlooked the village. _

"_But, what can I do?" The pink haired woman sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I'm not strong. I have no talents…" _

_Tsunade's eyes snapped to the face of the pale woman before her. _

"_Stop it. I'll talk you as my apprentice. Show you how to become strong, how to find what your weaknesses and strengths are. I…I'll help you become the ninja I know you should be." Tsunade said, her eyes growing soft as she took in the look of shock on Sakura's face. _

"_R-Really?" She asked. _

_Tsunade nodded once. _


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Ah, short prologue, I know. This chapter with however be longer! I hope you enjoy! Another note- the time is different in this story, like when Naruto left for training he wasn't gone three years, but instead- five.

The Hollow- Chapter One

_Two Years Ago- Training Grounds_

_The boulder crumbled to dust underneath her fingers. Panting, Sakura raised her head to meet the approving gaze of her teacher. _

"_You're getting better." The Hokage said, a smile gracing her stern features. "Now this time I want you to focus on how much energy you're expending. Try to only use the bare minimum. That is what will save you in a fight- rationing out your charka so that you can cause more damage over longer periods of time. And most of all, Sakura, you must be fast." _

_At that, Tsunade began to attack her student, throwing barrages of sebon and kunai. _

_Sakura dodged, and bent around the sharp objects moving at her- throwing herself every which way in order to stay unscathed. _

_Once the attack stopped Sakura took count of her injuries. _

"_Three times." She panted; she had only been cut three times. _

"_If those had been poisoned, you'd be dead." Tsunade said with a stern voice. She wouldn't stop pushing Sakura until she had met perfection. _

"_Again."_

_Sakura sighed, and prepared herself for another long afternoon of working on her speed. _

"_Yes, Lady Hokage."_

* * *

The bow in her hand felt light and flexible, made of pale white wood and tipped silver- it was a sight to see.

"I think this will do nicely." Sakura said, offering the man at the counter a coin purse. "You have a nice evening." She added, and walked out of the store.

Sakura smiled to herself as she held the bow in her hands, it was a nice size for her frame- light enough that she had no issues wielding it, but had enough weight that it wouldn't easily be thrown from her grasp.

Tsunade had suggested that Sakura pick out a weapon to become familiar with, so that she wouldn't be completely reliant on her taijutsu.

And so, she had decided that in order to be well-rounded within her fighting style she should have a weapon that was long-ranged. Now, bows were pretty uncommon in the ninja world, most ninjas wanting to show off skill and talent when it came to fighting- but Sakura was different. She wanted to be able to rely on a preemptive strike against whoever she was facing.

Sakura slung the bow on her back and began her trek to the training grounds. Time for some target practice.

The wind was cool, which was a bit unusual for this time of year in Fire country, it was late summer and soon the leaves would be turning.

Sakura smiled a bit to herself as she took in the site of the training grounds. She strode to the middle of the field, looking around for some trees that would do well for targets.

Spying a few across the field, she moved towards them- reaching into her leg pouch for some paper targets that the shopkeeper had recommended. She strung them along branches of different height, to allow for more varied targets, and walked some distance back so she could star firing.

The arrows that she had picked up for the bow were the same light colored wood as the bow with dark fletching's, the combination was quite striking and she liked the statement they made.

The pinkette carefully strung the bow and pulled back slowly on the string to test the weight. It sprung nicely, and so she knocked her first arrow.

She picked a target and lined the shot up- taking time to steady her hand and take a deep breath.

She let the arrow fly.

The bowstring made a quiet twang as it propelled the arrow forward- straight through the center of the target.

She lowered the bow with a triumphant grin.

She heard a slow clapping from her left and immediately lowered her weapon- emerald eyes darting to whoever had intruded on her training.

"I see you've picked a weapon." Tsunade said with a smile. "And it seems that you're a natural."

Sakura looked a little sheepish as she went to retrieve her arrow.

"Thank you." Sakura said with a small smile- arrow now in its sheath. "So, what brings you to the training grounds Shishou?" The medic asked, taking a swig from her canteen.

"Thought I'd check up on you." Tsunade said. "I'm wondering if you think you're ready for…the Jounin exam?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Did she think she was ready? No. Did she want to be ready? So very badly.

"I.." She trailed off, head lost in thoughts of what could be.

Tsunade looked at the 20 year old before here. She had progressed much farther than the Hokage could have imagined. Sakura's strength had already progressed farther than Tsunade's, and she was only second best in the medical field- barely below the Hokage, already above Shizune.

"I think you would do great Sakura, so please- consider signing up for it… and if you decide to take the exam- we can work on a special training régime with that new bow of yours."

Sakura thought long and hard about the decisions before her. She wanted to be stronger, to make some kind of lasting name for herself, something to set her apart from the others in her generation.

"I.. I'll do it." She said- face breaking out into a smile as she gazed upon the woman who had helped her through the hard times in the past five years.

Tsunade smiled wide and nodded. "I'll see you at the hospital in the morning and we can talk more about it."

* * *

Sakura was a bit giddy and exited the next morning as she made her daily trek to her job at the hospital. The sun was warm and bright on her back, and the wind was blowing nicely- throwing her pink tresses around her face in a flurry.

She made light conversation with the civilians she passed, and waved at the children playing in the streets. It was going to be a great day, she just knew it. She'd go to the hospital, check on her patients- possibly preform a few surgeries, then she'd meet with Tsunade and begin to schedule her training régime for the Jonin exam.

Well, at least that's what she thought was going to happen- until a bright orange blur raced into her.

"Sakura! Oh man is it good to see you again!" Naruto shouted as he went in for another hug, further frazzling the pink ninja.

Sakura only looked at him, slightly dumbfounded. "When…when did you get back?" Her voice was a bit cool and clipped as she took on the changes that the blond had made within the past five years.

"Just a few hours ago! How have you been? You've gotten taller!" He rambled, blue eyes bright as he took in the form of his female teammate.

"I've…I've been alright, I guess. Been training with Lady Tsunade." Sakura said, eyeing the path before her- only a block or some from the hospital.

"OH wow! That's great Sakura! Wait till you see Sasuke! He's changed a lot too!" Naruto paused, looking around for a second. "Come to think of it- he was supposed to meet me at the ramen stand for lunch! You should come too Sakura, it'll be just like the old days, me you Sasuke-teme and Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura balked, they had all come back?

"No thanks, I have work to do." Sakura said, eyes a bit downcast as she side-stepped the blond and continued on her way to the hospital.

She'd be damned if she just accepted the three of them back like nothing had happened- like she hadn't been abandoned.

"Alright, Shishou- I'm done with my rounds." Sakura said, running a hand through her hair as she sat in the chair before the Hokage's desk. "What kind of training did you have in mind?"

Tsunade eyed her carefully, nothing the drawn look to her students face- along with the slightly shaking hands and glazed eyes.

"Naruto said he saw you today." Was all the Hokage said, shuffling the stack of papers in her hand nonchalantly. Sakura went rigid and stared into the eyes of her teacher.

"I did." She said, and moved her gaze to that of the window. "And I declined his offer to meet with Sasuke and Kakashi." She added, and sighed.

"You'll have to forgive them someday Sakura. Holding grudges isn't good for anyone. Especially you." Tsunade said carefully, eyeing Sakura for her reaction.

"How could I forgive them Tsunade? For leaving me right after my parent's death? For forgetting me?" The pinkette's voice was angry now- and she crossed her arms with resolution.

Tsunade only shook her head and looked back down at the papers in her hands. "These are the forms for the Jonin exam. You should fill them out while we talk about training."

And that was all that was said on the subject of her teammates for the rest of the afternoon.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I apologize for the error of chapter one being loaded up twice . Seems as though my mouse decided to pick something that it wasn't supposed to. But that is now fixed and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Hollow- Chapter 2

The next morning Sakura found herself begin woken to her alarm clock- telling her that, yes, it was time to get up and , yes, she had a lot to do today.

So with a sigh she turned the alarm off and stretched. It was pretty early; the sun was barely awake and was just starting to peek over the trees of Fire country. It was a sight to see and Sakura absorbed the view for a few minutes before she shuffled out of bed and into the small shower that joined her bedroom.

The water was ice cold.

After that particular horror was done with, she set about making herself a small breakfast of miso and rice- and was soon out the door.

The roads leading to the hospital were desolate; it was yet too early for the civilians to be awake and on their morning routines. Sakura enjoyed the solace, and used the time each morning to collect her thoughts for the day and prepare herself for the mindset of the proclaimed doctor that she had become.

Life was... different for Sakura then it was for most ninja, especially being a medic. Generally, medics were meant to stay on the sidelines of battle and preserve themselves at all cost- because if there was no medic, then there was no survival for the team. But Sakura was different. She had pushed and molded herself into a strong capable kuniochi- one that could protect her own damn self and still be able to care for the members on her team. She took pride in this.

All too soon the pink haired woman found herself at the entrance to the hospital.

Stepping through the doors she smiled politely at the receptionist- a civilian who Sakura had never managed to learn the name of. She was thin and pale faced with mousy brown hair, pulled tight into a bun.

"Morning Doctor Haruno." The woman said quietly as she returned to her paperwork. "A mister Uzamaki is waiting in your office."

The words slid down Sakura's back like ice. Why would he want to see her here? This was supposed to be a place of solace for her and now she had to face at past that she just wished would disappear.

"How long has he been here?" Sakura asked with a sigh. The woman only shrugged and motioned down the hall to where the offices were kept.

Sakura squared her shoulders and nodded, taking firm and resolute steps towards her office.

0.0

"Sakura! You didn't tell me you were a doctor." The words were said with such a happy tone that it made Sakura clench her teeth.

"A lot of things have happened since you've been gone." She grit out, eyes barely meeting those of the blond before her.

"What do you want Naruto? I have a lot to do today." Her tone was sharp.

"Well, I wanted to see if you were up for lunch with me and Sasuke today?" His blue eyes were hopeful and his bottom lip was quivering oh so slightly.

Sakura gave him a blank stare.

"Why?" She asked.

"What do you mean 'why'?" Naruto asked puzzled. "We're friends, teammates! That's the kind of stuff we do." He said, face puzzled.

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose- she could feel a headache coming on. She was in no mood to deal with this today- seeing as she was supposed to start training for the Jonin exams this afternoon.

"No thank you." She tried to make her tone civil and polite but it came out with a grimace.

"I'm not leaving until you agree, Sakura." Naruto's face turned stubborn and resolute- he crossed his arms for emphasis.

Sakura knew she was fighting a losing battle, the determination she could feel resonating from the blond was slowly breaking her resolve. So finally, and with a large sigh of regret- she agreed.

"Fine. What time?" Her voice was small and tired sounding. Naruto's eyes lit up like lights.

"I'll come pick you up around one thirty!" He practically shouted and with a cloud of smoke he was gone.

Sakura could feel a small smile on her lips- and couldn't figure out why.

0.0

"Now, Mr. Inuzuka, if you don't hold still I'll be forced to sedate you." Sakura said, eying the man before her, popping her knuckles as her hand flared green with chakra. The man ceased his struggles.

"Kiba was right about you, you're a lot like Tsunade." The man mumbled and reluctantly held out his arm so that she could take the necessary blood for routine testing.

Sakura smiled and placed the now full vials in her pocket and signed the man's chart.

"You should be able to leave tomorrow morning, once the nurses have finished giving you a round of antibiotics." Sakura said, and nodded to the nurse who was standing in the door way to go ahead and administer the medicine.

"And next time, Mr. Inuzuka, please come to hospital before your injury gets infected." Sakura said, and stepped out of the door.

Only to run into the broad chest of one Naruto Uzamaki.

"You ready for lunch, Sakura?" He asked, smile on his face as always. "Sasuke's already at the restaurant."

"I've still got a few things to do, and then we can leave." She answered and swiftly side-stepped the man and strode down the hallway. Naruto followed suite.

0.0

The restaurant was surprisingly empty when the duo arrived. Naruto motioned to a table in the back where Sakura could make out Sasuke, brooding as ever, head resting on his chin with a bored look on his face.

Sakura followed Naruto's lead to the table, eyes resolutely avoiding Sasuke's gaze as she took a seat in front of him.

"Sakura." Sasuke said, her gaze finally meeting his. "It's nice to see you after so long."

Sakura only nodded and smiled slightly.

For Sasuke to say something like that, to admit something about another person either meant that he really had missed her- or he has somehow become less emotionally stunted. She didn't care which.

"So, Sakura, what have you been up to since we've been gone?" Naruto asked, inquisitive eyes focusing on Sakura's.

She gritted her teeth at the thought of them leaving her behind lighting her temper on fire. Her eyes dropped to the table.

"Well," She began calmly. "After you to _left _me, I was lucky enough for Lady Tsunade to ask me to be her apprentice." Sakura took a breath. "After you- you _abandoned_ me- I trained. I trained until I became the best medic here so I could step out of your shadows." She was breathing hard. "And you think you can waltz back into my life after what you did to me? No. I can't do this."

Naruto had the audacity to look confused and before he opened his mouth to retort her statement she stood.

"I don't want to be here." And with that she stood and exited the restaurant- leaving behind her former teammates with hurt and confused looks on their faces.

0.0

The grounds shook beneath her steps as she ran onto the training grounds- rage fueling her steps.

The tree she had targeted never stood a chance, it splintered and crashed into shards of wood. Leaving her covered in shredded bark and foliage. She chose another- it also fell to her anger.

Once she had decimated quite a few trees and some small boulders, she felt calmer and a little more relaxed.

She took a swig from her canteen and sighed. She had to get better at controlling her temper. The wind was blowing harder than usual, and Sakura could see dark storm clouds broiling in the distance. Tsunade's training for her would have to wait until tomorrow- it was her day off any anyway.

So with a small sigh and an apology to the trees she had decimated she stood and began to make her way back to her small apartment to shower and sleep.

She was tired.

0.0

A/N: Bleh. Short chapters I'm sorry but that's what happens when I don't have a plot XD I hope you liked it.


End file.
